Saturday, 11 February 2012

Catrice Nymphelia Collection

Nymphelia, the new limited edition seasonal collection by Catrice, surfaced in my local supermarket in Switzerland this week. Catrice is the sister brand of Essence with a more grown-up sensibility and sleeker packaging. The prices are slightly higher than Essence but still very affordable, with most products costing less than 7 Swiss francs. Nymphelia evokes the mystical, sensual world of nymphs with a palette of warm red, orange, brown, green and nude tones. The look is soft and feminine yet strong and sensual.

The collection includes five Ultimate Nail Lacquers; Intensif'Eye Wet & Dry Eyeshadow in 020 Charly's Chocolate Factory and 040 Have You Seen Alice?; Lashes To Kill Mascara 01 Black-Green, Eye Liner Pen 060 Black Green and a baked Unbeleaf'able Blush 01 Dancing Nymphs. (See swatches on Parokeets and Honey & Milk.) The Ultimate Nail Lacquer (CHF5.50) shades are: 01 Be Pool, 670 It's Rambo No. 5, 690 Fred Said Red, 710 Dulce & Havanna and 830 Salmon & Garfunkel. Smokey Eyes Set 050 Love, Peas and Harmony. (See swatches on Parokeets.) The Lashes To Mystify (CHF6.25) look reminiscent of Shu Uemura's false eyelashes packaging but at a much more affordable price point. I came home with the three Lip Colour Creams (from left to right): 01 Spring Kiss, 02 Blossom and 03 Nymph's Glow. Made in Italy, these retailed at CHF5.95 each for 7ml (about S$8.20). These have a doe foot sponge applicator and give the lips a glossy, smooth shine with a nice wash of semi-translucent color. There is no discernible taste or grittiness. The scent is a tad artificial but I could not detect it after applying the lipgloss.Here are some pics of the Catrice display, snapped with my Samsung Galaxy SII. The clear plastic packaging of the Absolute Eye Color Mono also look similar to Shu Uemura's previous packaging for its eyeshadow singles. I liked the shade range offered by the Color Show lipglosses, in particular 010 Toast With Champagne (extreme right). Like Essence, Catrice boasts an impressive line of nail polishes. Have you tried Catrice? If so, do let me know what you think of the brand!

10 comments:

I miss having Essence and Catrice products from the time I was living in the Netherlands, especially their seasonal releases like the one you posted. Cheap and of a decent quality for the price! Try Catrice's nail polishes, I found them to be of a good quality.

German reader here. (I have to say I was actually surprised to see Catrice featured on your blog.)

I mostly use Japanese brands (the irony), but Catrice has some nice nail polishes for sure. some bloggers like their light foundations (which still are too dark for me, but well), and their Lashes to Kill mascara seems rather popular, too, as well as their eyeshadows, which I still have to try.They changed quite a bit lately, introducing new colours and fading older ones out, and I am interested in a few new items.

hi Julia,I've been slowly exploring the brands available here in Switzerland. At the high end, there are mostly French brands and the usual American brands. These are priced so ridiculously high that I don't bother much with them. At the low end, there are brands like Essence and Catrice, aside from the usual L'Oreal, Maybelline and Bourjois offerings. I find their seasonal collections to be very interesting and quite well done. There aren't many Japanese brands here except Shiseido.

hi Nur,Thanks for the recommendation!

hi Eliza,I will definitely do so!

hi Leticia,Catrice seems to be widely available in several European countries. Hope you get to see it in person some time!

I know, that's why I have to import mine. Switzerland is quite expensive, at least as far as I've heard from friends. Germany is mostly so-so in terms of prices, although most American brands are still a lot more expensive than when you buy them directly in the US, and foundations usually don't offer the lightest shades. -.- I just got into Japanese brands when I lived in Japan and don't want to miss them. xD

Hi Julia,Same here, I miss my Japanese brands! Fortunately, I have friends in Singapore who help me purchase them. Japanese brands are actually cheaper now in Hong Kong and Taiwan than Japan itself, due to the exchange rate. There's also Adambeauty.com, which I haven't used myself but it's supposed to be reliable.